FRENCH MOVIE Courted (L'HERMINE)

Thursday, June 23, 1pm and 6:30pmVancity Theatre

In this elegant courtroom drama, the outcome of the case playing out before the jury gradually slips into the background as Christian Vincent instead focuses on the courtship between the presiding judge (Fabrice Luchini, from Gemma Bovery and Cycling with Moliere) and one of the reserve jurists (Sidse Babett Knudsen from The Duke of Burgundy and TV’s Borgen).

Improbable (and unethical) as such a relationship might appear in North American, there isn’t any hand-ringing in this typically sophisticated Gallic confection, just a witty, subtle and ultimately poignant romance between two mature adults brought together by circumstance. Imagine an especially polished episode of The Good Wife, augmented with a certain savoir faire.